


Where You Want to Be

by Alizarin Tea (TeaCupsandUmbrellas)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Lost, Gilmore's Glorious Goods, I mean you know, M/M, Magical Items, Percy is sad and then not sad, Slight Canon Divergence, but what's new, my shipping heart just wants these two to get together okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 18:10:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5976345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaCupsandUmbrellas/pseuds/Alizarin%20Tea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a routine trip to Gilmore's, Percy encounters a magical item that whisks him away to someplace - weirdly familiar. Though he couldn't guess why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where You Want to Be

It happened after the Kiss.

And yes, Vax would always think about it with a capital ‘K’. Not because it was any sort of special kiss, it was actually quite ordinary. Quick, on the cheek, in the middle of danger. A far fetch from kisses shared with others.

But those were kisses. This was the Kiss.

And it was that Kiss that haunted him for days. Weeks. Months, maybe? It was hard to keep track of time sometimes. Especially when he was transfixed by a man who kept the oddest hours Vax had ever seen.

***

He’d only wanted to go shopping. Get some powder, more steel, that sort of thing. Tinkering things. Things that shouldn’t have interested Vax at all.

Of course, with Percy’s luck, it seemed to be exactly what he was interested in.

At least, until they passed by Gilmore’s.

Gilmore. Percy liked Gilmore, he did, he really, really did. He liked his friendliness - sometimes - and his discounts - mostly. He just - how could he put it?

Ever since he’d felt chapped, bruised Half-elven lips on his cheek, it was hard to find Gilmore’s flirting endearing. There. He’d said it. Thought it. There was no way in Hell he was saying that out loud.

Ever.

***

Vax had noticed how Percy had changed since the Kiss. His sister wasn’t the only observant one, after all. It was nothing that would go noticed by anyone else, not even his sister, but there were little things. Lingering looks, small touches, an aborted sentence. Of course, there was every possibility that this was all in his head and Vax was just literally going crazy over a pale-haired gorgeous human.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

So he had a plan. There was only one person who would be able to coax the truth out of Percival Such and Such III. Shaun Gilmore. That brilliant man.

  
***

“I thought you wanted to go shopping.”

“I wanted gunpowder. I got gunpowder.”

“And now I want something, too.”

The way Vax said it - well, how on Earth could Percy refuse? The answer is - he couldn’t. Which is how he found himself being dragged into the shop. Almost immediately, even though it was just Vax and he in the small room - a small room filled with very breakable vials and artefacts, mind - he would probably always have some sort of psychosomatic anxiety about what Grog or Scanlan might accidentally knock over.

Even Gilmore’s discount couldn’t cover a shattered Dragonglass telescope.

“Vax’ildan, my very favourite customer!” The booming voice came from a tall, dark, wizard in purple robes that flowed quite a lot in all kinds of places. Gold glinted off his neck and fingers, but even they were dim compared to the grin Gilmore was bestowing upon them.

Well, bestowing upon Vax. Percy had never received a greeting like that.

Speaking of - the gunslinger looked away as Vax practically yelled out and lifted Gilmore off his feet in a hug. He decided to look through a curious invention - must be one of Gilmore’s prototype’s - flipping through slides of glass and seeing -

“Ahem,” a cough brought his head up, eyes blinking owlishly from behind his glasses. One of the lenses was cracked, though it was still staying together. Somehow. “Are you buying?” Sherri asked, eyebrows raising past her hairline, it seemed.

“Just browsing,” Vax saved him, somehow sliding an arm around Percy’s shoulders. “And seeing old friends. How are you, my dear?” he asked, his most charming smile slipping into place.

Percy had to cough, hiding his laugh as Sherri lifted her chin, giving Vax a look that was less than impressed, and swept away into the back room.

“You are very impressive,” Percy murmured, still smirking behind his hand as he watched Sherri disappear. “The ladies swoon.”

“They’re not the only ones,” he answered, voice low enough that Percy could almost imagine it sliding all the way down his spine. Christ on a stick.

“Right, yes,” he ducked out from under Vax’s arm. “You had shopping to attend to?” He adjusted his glasses, blinking again, almost squinting past the crack in the left lens.

“Shopping. Right. Gilmore!” And then he was gone, leaving Percy alone in a cramped shop filled with breakable things. Well, he supposed it was better than having Grog alone in a cramped shop filled with breakable things.

Percy found himself drawn to the strange contraption on the counter, flipping through glass panes and looking inside. It took a moment, but finally shapes began to take shape.

A river, a cottage, a forest.

He blinked.

When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in Gilmore’s Glorious Goods.

In fact, he had no idea where he was. Percy twisted around, wondering if it was some trick. An enchantment that made him see things that weren’t there. But when he dipped his hand into the stream, it was cold and very wet. The trees were not hollow. Percy walked around the perimeter of the cottage, fingers tracing over window panes and pipes.

All real.

He tested the door to the cottage and found it - unlocked.

***

“Thank you, Gilmore, really,” Vax said as they walked through the beaded curtain again. “I appreciate it.”

“Just remember what I said,” the other man said, tapping Vax’s nose. “And don’t be afraid.”

“No, I won’t,” he said, softer than before. “Ready, Percy?” he turned, looking for his tell-tale white hair and the flash of his spectacles. Cracked spectacles, he remembered. He should get those fixed, have Percy wake up to find a fully repaired pair of glasses next to his bed. Would he find it weird, that Vax had been in his bedroom? Maybe he should leave them in the workshop instead. Oh, but Percy always got touchy with people in his - “Percival?”

“I don’t believe he’s here, dear boy,” Gilmore said, sliding past him to the counter. “Look,” he tapped the invention Percy had been studying before. Vax came closer, curious as he approached. When he looked through the scope, he saw nothing but clear glass.

“What is it?” he asked, standing straight again. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s -” Gilmore paused, sighing. “It takes you to the place you most want to be, whether you know it or not.”

“Then where did he go?” Vax asked, ducking back down, sweeping long hair back over his shoulder. “Where is he?” he looked up at Gilmore, eyes wide. The wizard paused, then could only shake his head.

“I don’t know.”

***

There was something - weirdly familiar about this place, but Percy couldn’t quite place it. The cottage itself was empty - entirely empty. Devoid of furniture or even dust, it was like being inside a painting. Nothing felt real and yet - somehow, this was the most real Percy had felt in a long time. He searched the entire cottage, looking for a clue as to where he was, what he was doing here - nothing.

And then - oh, what was that? Tucked into a dark corner, filled with shadows, there was - a doll. A cloth doll, perfectly pristine and lovely. A doll. Percy bent to pick up the child’s toy, turning it over in his hands, wondering why it seemed so, so familiar.

When he finally remembered, he nearly dropped the thing.

“Cassandra,” he breathed, taking the doll as he rushed out the door. “Cassandra!”

  
***

  
“Explain this to me again, Gilmore,” Vax’s voice was far more stern than he had intended, and immediately he soften. “Just - one more time. Alright?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Gilmore asked, trying to add a bit of levity to the situation. Vax didn’t even twitch. “Very well. The - glass. They’re more like mirrors, only they reflect a person’s consciousness, not their features. Very useful, really.”

“Skip to the part where Percy disappears.” Vax interrupted, dragging a hand through his hair. Sometimes, it was frustrating trying to keep Gilmore on track.

“There is one mirror,” he continues, still gentle, “which shows a person where they most want to be right in that moment. And if they stare long enough -” he snapped his fingers, hand splaying. “Poof.”

***

Nothing. Not even a footprint. He was entirely alone and still had no idea where he was, exactly. He had only come here a few times with his parents, and then with Cassandra. That had been a very, very long time ago.

Sighing, Percy sat down on the grass, running fingers over the threads of the doll. “What have I done?” he asked, groaning as he fell back onto the ground. At least it was a beautiful day out. Birds chirping, the gentle burble of the stream. It was sunny out, which he wasn’t exactly used to. After spending god knows how long in the Underdark, it was still strange to see sun shining. It was too bad there was no one here to enjoy it with him. He was entirely -

Oh, gods. Percy sat up, wide-eyed and panicked all over again.

Vax. Vax was in the shop, he was - Percy wasn’t in the shop, he was here and that meant -

What would he think? What would he do? Nothing too stupid, he hoped. Hope was a strong word. Vax always did stupid things, always, always, always. It was practically his prerogative.

“Sarenrae,” he looked up at the sun, pleading. “Let him be safe.”

***

Vax threw up his hood as he paced the shop, needing time to think. He had no idea where Percy had gone, where that thing could have taken him. Where you most want to be? What does that even mean? Would he pop up at the Keep? Whitestone? Where?

“Wait,” he looked up, grasping Gilmore by the arms. “The place where you most want to be, right?” the wizard nodded. “Does that include people?”  
Gilmore’s brow furrowed. “I don’t follow.”

“If I wanted to be with Percival bad enough, would it take me to him?” Vax asked, shaking him slightly. “Would it?” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand, one that was far harsher than he had meant.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, lifting his hands in a show of surrender. Chagrined, Vax let him go, letting out a frustrated groan as he paced away, hands dragging through his hair and pulling it out of his careful ponytail. “But I think it’s worth a shot, don’t you?”

Vax stopped, glancing over his shoulder at the wizard. He gave one nod before kneeling before the contraption again, looking through it curiously. “Come on, handsome,” he murmured to himself, flipping through the glass panes. “Come on, come on, com -”

When Gilmore looked, he saw that he was alone in the shop again.

“Sherri?” he called. “Please be prepared to put out a missive to Vox Machina.”

***

“- on.” By the time the word was out of his mouth, Vax was somewhere else entirely. A wooded area, with a stream and a cottage and -

“Vax?”

Oh, thank the Gods. “Percival,” the name of a sigh than anything else, breathed out as Vax pulled Percy to his feet and then into a hug, arms wrapping tight, mindless of the doll still clutched in the other man’s hands. It took a moment, but eventually Percy relaxed enough to return the embrace, secretly curling fingers into long, dark hair.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Vax whispered against the shell of his ear. Percy just hugged him tighter.

It was Percy who let go first, stepping back with a blush and a sheepish expression on his face, head ducking. His hands fiddled with the doll, with his spectacles, with anything he could find. “Well, I had confidence you could find me,” he said, only lying a little. Percy looked up, sheepish smile fading as he caught the look on Vax’s face. “What?”

“Don’t ever scare me like that again, you bastard,” he said before curling his fingers into the lapels of Percy’s jacket and hauling him into a kiss. The gunslinger was so surprised that he froze, dropping the doll onto the grass. After a few moments, he melted into the kiss, hands falling around Vax’s neck and into his hair. Oh.

He lost track of time, kissing Vax. It could have taken a millenia for them to pull apart and he wouldn’t have noticed the time passing. The blush that had risen before was now a bright red on his pale skin.

“Well, that was - unexpected,” he said, fixing his glasses, which had gone askew. Vax’s fingers found their way along his jaw and he had to stop, blinking.

“Was it?” Vax asked, palm sliding to the back of Percy’s neck. “I thought I was being entirely too obvious. Even Pike noticed.” Percy’s head tilted, brow furrowing.

“Noticed . . . ?”

“That I was in love with you.” He said it so simply, like it was a statement about the weather. Like it was obvious. 

“Oh,” he said. At least, he thought he said it. It might have come out as more of a breath, a whisper. It was hard to hear over the rushing in his ears and the pounding of his heart. “Oh.”

Vax was watching him carefully, and Percy could practically track the surprisingly open and vulnerable expression trickling away as he still didn’t say anything. Hiding, putting up walls. Well, he couldn’t have that.

“I love you, too,” he said before those walls could slam up, pull them apart all over again. “For - awhile, now.” Percy ducked his head as the blush flared up again. It wasn’t until he heard Vax laughing that he looked up, curious and bewildered. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m an idiot,” Vax answered, leaning to catch Percy’s mouth again, eyes sliding shut. Percy could imagine that he could feel his eyelashes against his cheek.

“Wait -” he stopped Vax with a hand on his chest. The half-elf looked almost scared until Percy smiled at him, leaning up to place a chaste kiss to his lips. “I was just wondering - how are we getting home?”  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can find me on tumblr over at alizarintea.tumblr.com


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